Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009382Charity
About the Artwork
Abraham Bloemaert drew on traditional depictions of the Virgin and Child for this allegorical image of Charity: a woman surrounded by children, one an infant for whom she has bared her breast. Bloemaert was one of the leading proponents of the Mannerist style in the Northern Netherlands. Characteristics of that style include exaggerated figural proportions, contorted poses, heightened colors, densely packed compositions, and a deliberate eroticism—invoked here to emphasize the magnetic quality of Charity’s serene beauty.
Provenance
Probably until 1992: Private collection, Caracas, Venezuela 1992: (Sotheby’s, New York, Jan. 17, 1992, no. 18 [as "attributed to Abraham Bloemaert"]; unsold) 1992-1993?: American private collection? 1993: (Sotheby’s, New York, private treaty sale, June 16, 1993, sold to Jack Kilgore) 1993-1994: (Jack Kilgore & Co., Inc., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1994-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Exhibition history
Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651) and His Time. Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg, FL (organizer) (January 28-April 8, 2001).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Abraham Bloemaert (Dutch, 1566–1651)
- Date
- c. 1590
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- Framed: 87 x 100 x 10.2 cm (34 1/4 x 39 3/8 x 4 in.); Unframed: 68.6 x 54.5 cm (27 x 21 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 1994.10
More by Abraham Bloemaert in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009382
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